I AM SO CONFUSED :( Can somebody help me please?

[mumat39]

OK
So I've read most of the threads about the various diets on here plus some that have been recommended on my other thread about eating too muhc sugar and I AM CONFUSED :(

The harcombe diet says no to potatoes
The potatoes not prozac says potatoes are ok
BIWI's bootcamp sounds good but I can't eat eggs, nuts, seeds, legumes and fish due to mine and my DD's allergies and I can't face the thought of eating meat at every meal. The principlas of this one I feel would work for me if I could figure out what to eat with all the restrictions we have at home.
Shirley's Eat more to weigh less plan which I feel makes the most sense.

I have in the past done slimming world and rosemary conley. Started and stopped Atkins and the Primal Blueprint. And more recently Diet Chef. At the moment I am reading Potatoes Not Prozac as I have a REAL PROBLEM with sugar but I'm not even convinced about that because of the yes/no difference of opinion on potatoes.

As I say I am confused.

I lost a stone on Diet Chef but found it really hard as I was hungry all the time. I have always had a 'good' appetite and even though I knew the diet would involve 1200 cals per day, I wasn't really aware of how little that was in terms of the food so it was a shock. Up until about a month ago I hadn't eaten biscuits for a good few years as I know once I have one I have to have the packet. But for the last few weeks I've had this ENORMOUS craving for all things biscuit. When I bite on them I can feel my whole self relaxing and I am annoyed that I have resorted to this esp as I've managed without for so long. I don';t know if it was the fact that I was on the 1200 cals plan for a few months. Needless to say I have put on about 8lbs and am slowly but surely creeping back to 12st 10. :(

I need to sort out what I should eat and how and when but the more I read the more confused I get, so how do I decide which regime is best for me?

I have an underactive thyroid (Hashimotos) and am also on anti depressants. I know I can't do much about the thyroid but if I could eat well to somehow reduce my anxiety and come of the anti-depressants that would be great as I'm sure I'm just depleted of whatever doo da's I need to feel better. Then if I could learn to eat better and look after myself better that would also be amazing. I would hope then that the weight would come off. I'd like to have a more healthy BMI as I'm about 27 at the moment.

Sorry for my long essay, but is there a way to decide which would work best for me considering dietary restrictions, health issues and a current craving for all things carby and sugary.

Many Thanks for reading and for any help or advice.

Trial and error. See what works for you. No right answer. I have tried most low carb. They all work, so its personal choice, aim to eat protein at each meal and cut out all processed sugars and keep unprocessed carbs to a minimum until you have sorted out the sugar addiction.

Because of the allergy issues I think would be mad to rule out dairy.

My anxiety and depression has vastly improved on a low carb diet and I don't think you'll have to go ultra low carb to see the benefits. It will be a bit more difficult due to your dietary requirements but not impossible. You could do bootcamp but follow the veggie rules for the most part. I wasn't a massive meat eater when I started low carbing and now I happily eat a tonne of the stuff, so you may find that your taste changes. There have even been some veggies on the low carb threads that have started craving and eating meat.

You say you can't have legumes - is tofu ok? There's also quorn - check the packets though because some varieties are quite high carb whereas others are ok. Is it just fish that you can't have or is all seafood out? There's also cheese, yoghurt, cottage cheese etc for protein.

Thank you both.

I think where I get confused is that I have tried diets before. HAd some success and then piled the weight back on and then some everytime.

I am concerned that this hasn't had a good effect on me, physically or mentally and worry that I have somehow damaged myself which is why I don't work properly, if that makes sense?

I need a new way of dealing with food forever, so that I can feel healthy and better and not so lethargic and foggy.

How do I know which plan is the best for that? I can't keep doing the trial and error thing as I'm about 2 stone heavier now than when I started trialling diets. So I'd like to go for an option and stick to it forever, but the question is which one. It also needs to account for the foods I can't eat including dairy as I'm intolerant, although I'm worse on milk but not so bad on yogurts.

I'm tired of thinking about this all the time and still feeling confused. If that makes sense.

If you are not so bad on yoghurt then you can probably eat products made from sheep and goat's milk. I think you can do properly low carb with a bit of effort but what might be easier for you to begin with is the Harcombe diet - basically you can still eat carbs as long as you don't combine them with fats so you could have porridge with skimmed milk but not with cream.

I think you may be over thinking it all and have developed an all or nothing approach to dieting. Been there, put on the weight!

Maybe try not to think in terms of following a particular diet but decide which healthy foods you can eat and build a plan around them. Some people on here really rate
MyFittnessPal which tracks calories etc.

Work out about 3 breakfasts you can have that fill you up. A few lunches. Some snacks. And dinners. Keep it fairly low carb.

I am doing weight watchers but trying to keep it low on carbs. Usually have porridge for breakfast. Or eggs with WW malted Danish bread. Or fruit with fat free Greek yoghurt. Lunch protein with salad. Sensible dinner. And I have 2 weight watchers biscuits with a cuppa after lunch most days.

Thank you QueenStromba and CiderwithBuda :)

I'll have a look at the Harcombe diet again and Cider I think you're right I do spend alot of time reading and reading and then just get confused where to start. Maybe I should just do something and not be so worried about weight gain (again - eeek!)

Thanks again.